rade inflation at English universities has fallen for the primary time in a decade, new evaluation suggests.

Across 144 establishments, 32.8% of scholars have been awarded a firstclass diploma in 2021/22, a drop of 4.6% on the 12 months earlier than when it stood at 37.4%.

It marks the primary time that the Office for Students (OfS), which gathered the info, has noticed a fall within the variety of firstclass levels since 2010/11 and comes after universities in England pledged final July to reverse diploma inflation.

But the variety of firstclass levels was nonetheless greater than double the determine at 2010/11, once they stood at 15.4%, and haven't dropped to pre-pandemic ranges.

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The information, analysed by the PA news company, confirmed that whereas the general variety of firstclass levels had fallen, half of them remained unexplained – a decline of 4.8% on the 12 months earlier than.

The OfS defines “unexplained” levels as these which can't be put all the way down to elements similar to college students’ entry {qualifications} or topics of examine.

Any affect on the awarding of levels made in response to the pandemic has additionally been labeled as “unexplained”.

Susan Lapworth, chief govt of the OfS, welcomed the progress in tackling grade inflation however stated extra wanted to be achieved.

She stated: “We’re not out of the woods yet as half of first class degrees cannot be explained by students’ entry qualifications or the subject of study.

“Inflation of grades that does not reflect actual student achievement is bad for students, graduates and employers, and risks undermining the reputation of English higher education in the UK and beyond.

“We are encouraged to see a reduction in the proportion of unexplained top grades, but universities and colleges know that they need to continue to take the steps necessary to protect the value of their qualifications, now and over time.

Students, graduates and employers must have confidence that degrees awarded represent a reliable assessment of achievement, with qualifications remaining credible throughout a student’s career

“We recognise there are likely to be a range of factors – including improved teaching – that could lead to an increase in the number of firsts awarded.

“But the sustained increase in unexplained firsts and upper second-class degrees since 2010/11 continues to cause us concern.

“Students, graduates and employers must have confidence that degrees awarded represent a reliable assessment of achievement, with qualifications remaining credible throughout a student’s career.”

Oxford University recorded the bottom stage of grade inflation for firstclass levels over the previous decade.

In 2010/11, 28.5% of scholars attending the college obtained a firstclass diploma, rising to 36.4% in 2021/22.

The bounce of seven.9 proportion factors is the smallest amongst all of the England-based universities within the Russell Group, which includes a few of the most prestigious larger schooling organisations within the nation.

Queen Mary University of London has seen the most important rise throughout the last decade, from 15.4% to 45.8%, adopted by the University of Leeds, which was up from 17.6% to 47.5%.

UCL had the very best proportion of firsts awarded in 2021/22, totalling 52%, whereas University of Newcastle had the bottom at 32.2%.